This week was my annual yell at the BBWAA on social media event. It's the one event that every year you know everyone will be mad, nobody is ever happy after the MLB Hall of Fame announcement. It's the one day we can all agree to disagree with the decision makers. I wrote about this last year and have wasted countless brain cells on trying to figure out the perfect solution for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and honestly other Halls of Fame. This week though a question was posed, what is your criteria for someone to get into the hall of fame? So let's explore what is a hall of fame player.
To me there are few things in MLB that make you an automatic qualifier. Those are, 3,000 hits or 500 home runs for hitters and 3,000 strikeouts or 300 wins for pitchers, (yes I know I don't think pitcher wins matter but if you get 300 you did something right and you were great, plus you probably finished your games and didn't have a bullpen blow it for you. Also, we may have to lower it to 200 wins for guys who debuted after 2000, but again if they are that dominate than 3,000 Ks is probably withing distance for them.) Those are just the automatics, they should be first ballot guys, no questions asked, if you hit any of those milestones you did enough in the game to be considered in top of the top. And enough of calling guys "compilers," you can't measure guys by stats but then say they only stuck around long enough to compile stats, that's the point of the game, dummy.
If you don't hit any of those milestones, my next criteria would be, were you dominate. Sometimes guys dominate for only 5-7 years, and then get hurt, or flame out. My example is Johan Santana, from 2002-2008 he put up seasons that are just unbelievable, he won 2 Cy Young awards, finished top 7 in voting every year. That's a dominate 6 years, plus throw in another year he had a 7 year peak of 45.0 WAR. Granted outside those 6 years there isn't much, but in terms of WAR Johan Santana put up 51.7 WAR in 12 season and Sandy Koufax put up 48.9 WAR in 12 years, Koufax won 3 Cy Youngs to Santana's 2, but Koufax didn't face guys with PEDs pumping through their bodies. To me Johan Santana belongs in the Hall of Fame, and no he isn't better than Sandy Koufax, you would be hard pressed to find anyone better than Sandy, but you can make a case for Santana getting another look in a short career.
Another thing that should get you in is a dominate Postseason performance. In Game 7 of the 1991 World Series Jack Morris for the Minnesota Twins went 10 innings, gave up 0 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts, before his Twins scored the series winning run in the bottom of the 10th for a World Series title. That performance when added to Jack's career #'s, 254 Wins 3.90 ERA, and 2,478 strikeouts, should have made him a shoe in for the hall of fame. Sure he never won a Cy Young but nobody else went 10 innings of shutout ball in a Game 7. Madison Bumgarner could be going down the Jack Morris road, he has been an ok regular season pitcher but his postseason numbers, especially 2014 have made his a fringe candidate for Cooperstown. In 16 career Postseason games Bum has a line of 102 1/3 innings pitched, 8 wins 3 losses 1 save (oh what a save it was) 2.11 ERA, 3 shutouts, 87 Ks to 18 walks and 0.899 WHIP. I personally don't think Bum is there yet, but he will have a case if he can get about 700 more Ks, which at his pace would take 3-5 more years. It is compelling.
I'm not sure I'm right on these criteria, but honestly it's a Hall of Fame. What's it matter if 1 guy who is enshrined maybe is the worst player in the building, someone has to be. To me the Hall of Fame should be a way to celebrate the game, celebrate your childhood, and a destination you take your family and tell them stories from before their time. I would love to go and have someone tell me what it was like to watch Willie and Hank play the outfield and hit the snot out of the ball. I would also love to take my kids to Cooperstown and wax poetically about Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens, but sadly since it's harder to get into the Hall of Fame than ever I don't think I'll ever have the urge to make that trip. While we're at it keep politics out of it as well, Curt Schilling may be a dirtball in his personal life has nothing to do with his baseball acumen. I can't stand the guy but he belongs in those halls, the bloody sock alone falls into my 3rd criteria, not to mention 2001 when Arizona shocked the Yankees. It's a museum not heaven and I think some people forget that. I'm for a big hall of fame, and would rather debate someone's inclusion than their exclusion.
@derekbredeson on twitter, come back next week for the Super Bowl Tale of the Tape, my favorite yearly post.
